"How may I serve Your Majesty, Erzsébet Camille von Karnstein?" she said.
"My idiotic daughter," Erzsébet began, her voice dripping with venom.
"I only allowed you to keep stalking that boy, but I never permitted you to BREAK! THE CEASEFIRE PACT!"
She was angry, and it was justified.
The pact that kept every supernatural faction in a fragile peace was now broken by her own daughter.
If it had been a random, no-name vampire, "The Hunter" would have taken care of it as he maintains order in the Land of the Night.
But it was her own daughter, a princess of the Carmilla Faction.
No matter how she sugarcoated it, it was a breach of the pact that demanded absolute non-aggression, especially against humans.
"My idiotic daughter, did you forget that to make a human join a different supernatural faction, there is a legal procedure?" Erzsébet said tiredly, looking at her daughter with a helpless annoyance.
If only Eleanor had waited, she could have handled that part, but her daughter had to ditch it all and sneakily do the ritual right before a damned full moon when she least expected it.
"I can't possibly believe the words of a woman who failed her first love!" Eleanor shouted in retort, making Erzsébet nearly puke blood from the insult.
Yes, this beautiful vampire milf was apparently a failure in love.
"I believe I already told you I never loved anyone," Erzsébet said, trying to save face.
"You can't fool me! I know how many times you've wept in front of your mirror about—"
Before Eleanor could reveal any more, the entire room twisted into a forest of thorny vines and roses.
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO MENTION THAT!"
Erzsébet screamed and wrapped Eleanor around and with thorny vines her voice muffled.
Eleanor's face paled at she looked at her mother's expression.
.
.
.
That's why
Don't expect to have the upper hand, even if you know a dark secret about your parents.
Because Ultimately they are always above you
.........
"Hmmm… ah~ What happened?" Alicia muttered, waking up with a dizzy feeling and her legs wobbly.
She looked around the room, slowly beginning to remember.
"Ah, I remember... me and that man."
Her face turned a deep crimson as the events of the last half hour came flooding back.
'So, I'm married. And to someone that can actually survive the curse of witches!
Ah, what should I do? I never expected to get married,' she thought, rubbing her cheeks.
A deep, embarrassed blush spread across her face.
Suddenly, she remembered the last moment of consciousness and felt a jolt of panic.
'Wait, there was that weird phenomenon! Where is my husband?' She got to her feet and searched the room, her worry growing as she found nothing.
Finally, she decided to use her magic to search the area.
She found his mana, but it felt somewhat different—less like a human's and more like a witch's.
Curious and worried, she got up and followed the trace of his mana, walking towards where he was.
......
I had finished my tenth book on mana and different energies and learned something crucial.
Mana, though universally present, could only be used by humans.
Other races couldn't use it because they had their own power systems that didn't require mana.
Mana reacted differently to each race, so they couldn't simply copy how humans used it.
And witches?
They were actually a sub-category of humans, born with a special constitution that set them apart.
That's why they could use magic with mana—they were human.
But their unique constitution allowed them to feel every kind of energy, even if they could only use mana.
"That's interesting," I mused
"So witches are special because they can feel every kind of energy but can only use mana and their constitution makes them absorb mana from every living being at the slightest touch."
I read a few more lines, but a soft sound of light footsteps made me turn around.
I saw my third wife, Alicia, standing there.
She was wearing only an oversized sweater that revealed her deep cleavage.
Her breasts were massive, even more so than Liliana's and Eleanor's.
'I wonder If that size is more 9000'
Well jokes aside they were indeed quite satisfying to look at.
"How long are you going to ogle at my chest, pervert?" she said with a pout, shielding her breasts with her arms.
I grimaced at the action
'Woman that's a crime to hide your tits from your hubby'
I had the urge to call Marriage Police
"Hey, I already watched and played with them bare-skinned," I teased, a smirk on my face. "Why can't I do the same when they are clothed?"
She turned her gaze away, still pouting.
I chuckled.
Maybe forced marriage wasn't so bad after all. I smiled at the thought.
"What are you reading?" she asked, getting closer.
"Books about magic," I said.
"After all, you turned me into a warlock of some sorts. Now I can see mana and different kinds of energy."
She paused, looking at me, completely shocked.
"So you really became one of us? But how?"
I shrugged. "I'm more clueless about this world than you are, honey," I said.
She blushed at the endearing term and pinched my arm.
"Don't tease me," she whispered like a mosquito.
'Huh? When did I tease you, woman?' I thought to myself, confused.
But I had a more important question.
"Alicia, can you tell me everything about what happened during the ritual? I need to know everything in detail."
........
The air in the throne room was thick with tension.
A previously high and mighty vampire princess was now on her knees, her head bowed in submission as her mother, the Vampire Queen, gazed down at her with a satisfied expression.
The satisfaction, however, was lost the moment Eleanor finished explaining the whole story.
"So you mean not only did you mess up the ritual, but you also dragged other supernatural factions into it as well? Ahhhh! I can't believe you are my daughter by blood!"
Erzsébet said, massaging her head with a pained expression.
The weight of her daughter's incompetence was almost too much to bear.
But soon, an idea struck her.
A devious, political solution.
"Eleanor," she called, her voice now dangerously calm.
Her daughter answered immediately, "Yes, dear mother!"
Erzsébet tapped a long, manicured finger on the armrest of her obsidian throne and asked carefully,
"I am right to assume that they were also responsible for the mishap which caused them to get married to that boy?"
Upon hearing Erzsébet's words, Eleanor gnashed her teeth in frustration
At the painful reminder that her husband was not entirely hers.
But she still nodded, as it was the truth.
"Wonderful, then. I can just negotiate with them and arrange a collective solution," Erzsébet smiled at the wonderful idea.
"Maybe something like, 'you all fell in love with him together and impulsively married him together.'" The thought of a diplomatic victory seemed to ease her pain.
"It could even help strengthen the pact—a marriage between races."
The more Eleanor heard, the more she felt her heart screaming.
"Bu-but Valerian is mine! He belongs to me," she uttered with difficulty, the thought of cooperating and sharing almost breaking her heart.
She couldn't do that.
No way in hell.
Non, non.
Erzsébet's cold gaze met her daughter's.
"I don't care about your feelings.
Actually, it's your fault to begin with.
Now, deal with it yourself."
With that, Erzsébet disappeared into the darkness, leaving Eleanor alone, biting her lips in frustration.
'Valerian... how could I just give him up?'
Her eyes were filled with tears at the thought of having to share him.
It felt like a betrayal of her ten years of loving him.
'No, I can't let that happen,' she thought, a dark plan forming in her mind.
A plan that could cost her everything.
'But if it's for Valerian, I'm prepared to lose everything. Everything.'
With that thought, she left the room, a new, cold resolve hardening her expression.
.......
The Author's Hub (Part 2)
The studio lights came up, bathing the small set in a warm glow.
Valentina sat in her velvet chair, a small, knowing smile on her face as she looked directly into the camera.
"Welcome back, everyone, to Author's Hub," she began, her voice smooth and professional.
"I am your host, Valentina, and we have a very special guest here today.
Please welcome... the Author."
A figure emerged from the shadows, stepping into the light.
He wasn't what anyone would expect—just a man in a simple hoodie, a thoughtful expression on his face.
He nodded in greeting and took the chair opposite Valentina.
"Hello," he said simply.
Valentina chuckled.
"Yes, he is the Author," she confirmed, a hint of amusement in her eyes.
"The one who writes the destiny of the world we've been following. So, Mr. Author," she leaned forward, her expression turning serious.
"It seems like Eleanor is entering a dark phase. Will she make a mistake because of it?"
The Author's gaze shifted, looking as if he were peering into a distant world.
"Well, I can't tell you much about that because I haven't fully planned her scheme yet. It was only an idea that struck me," he confessed, a wry smirk on his face.
"But I can say that it would be her last attempt, as we need the harem to be as harmonious as possible. We can't have what happened to other poor bastards in other stories, can we?"
"I see," Valentina said, a thoughtful frown on her brow.
"Well, it seems Merlin is somewhat winning as the choice for mentor. What are your thoughts on that?"
The Author's smile widened.
"I'm glad that's the case, as I prefer Morgan over Scathach." He looked directly at the camera.
"A little warning to my dear readers: please don't be upset at my choice."
Valentina's confusion was clear.
"Huh? I thought we were talking about different people... Merlin, Cu Chulainn, Solomon etc?"
"Oh, I see you didn't understand," the Author said, his voice taking on a knowing, almost conspiratorial tone.
"Actually, choosing the mentor also unlocks a path toward different heroines."
He gestured with his hands, as if shaping the different paths in the air.
Choosing Merlin means entering the Arthurian legend route, where the MC may enter Avalon and meet either Morgan, Lady Vivian, or King Arthur—or all of them.
Choosing Setanta, or Cu Chulainn, could lead to unlocking a route toward the land of shadows and becoming Scathach's disciple.
While this could happen later, choosing Cu means it could happen earlier.
Choosing Solomon could lead to Val obtaining the book of Ars Goetia, which houses 72 pillars of Goetia, all of them female spirits, by the way.
Choosing Abe no Seimei means he could unlock the Japan route earlier and also encounter a wild Yokai Waifu.
"Well," Valentina said, her eyes wide with surprise as she absorbed the new information.
"Now that the Author has explained it all, the choice is up to you, readers."
With the stakes now clear, which path will Valerian take?
The Arthurian route with Merlin, the Land of Shadows with Cu Chulainn, the Ars Goetia route with Solomon, or the Japan route with Abe no Seimei?